MLB Targets: June 30th

We have a full 15-game slate tonight as we head into the holiday weekend, so let’s get to it. Remember, the best place for last minute info, other than DK Live, of course, is Twitter. Find me there @RyNoonan. Let’ dig in.

Pitcher

Stud

Jacob deGrom – NYM vs. PHI – $12,500 – It’s a close call for the top spot at starting pitcher tonight, but I give Jacob deGrom the slight edge over Alex Wood because I think he’s more likely to work deep into the game. Those extra outs, and possibly subsequent strikeouts, really help raise deGrom’s floor in cash games. The Phillies’ offense has been struggling lately too, with a 24% K-rate and 79 wRC+ over the past two weeks. Alex Wood has been exceptional this season, but Dave Roberts doesn’t seem to let his pitchers top the 100 pitch mark very often and that hurts Wood’s upside despite the elite matchup against the Padres.

Other Options – Alex Wood ($11,700), Robbie Ray ($10,300)

Value

Lance McCullers – HOU vs. NYM – $8,800 – The only other time that Lance McCullers has been under $10,000 this season was when he faced these Yankees in New York in early May. He struck out seven in six innings of work and finished the day with 29.1 DraftKings points. This is an elite starter who you can get at a discount against a Yankees club that’s less than 100% heading into this contest.

Other Options – Jacob Faria ($8,300), Marco Estrada ($7,100)

Catcher

Stud

Alex Avila – DET vs. CLE – $3,900 – There should be a lot runs scored in this game, and getting as much exposure to it as possible seems like a sharp play on Friday. Alex Avila continues to hit second against right-handed pitching and will likely continue to do so for as long as he continues to mash. His average fly ball distance, exit velocity and hard hit rate against right-handers continue to be among the very best marks in all of baseball.

Other Options – Salvador Perez ($3,600)

Value

Yan Gomes – CLE vs. DET – $2,300 – Like I said, we want as much of this game as possible. Tigers’ starter Anibal Sanchez is one of the best DraftKings pitchers to target against due to his increasingly high fly ball rate and inability to miss bats, so Yan Gomes is very much in play if he’s in the lineup tonight.

Other Options – Austin Barnes ($3,200)

First Base

Stud

Logan Morrison – TB vs. BAL – $4,700 – Another club that we’ll want to give a long look at is the Tampa Bay Rays. Orioles’ starter Chris Tillman has really struggled this season, walking nearly as many batters as he’s struck out while allowing copious amounts of hard contact. It’s no accident that Tampa has the highest implied-team total on the entire slate at 5.8 runs.

Other Options – Paul Goldschmidt ($5,500)

Value

Miguel Cabrera – DET vs. CLE – $3,900 – Over the past two weeks, Miguel Cabrera’s hard-hit rate is 57%. 57! That’s an insanely high mark and is, even more, proof that Miggy has no business being under $4,000 against any pitcher. He’s firmly in play against reverse-split righty Josh Tomlin.

Other Options – Matt Carpenter ($3,900), Kendrys Morales ($3,700)

Second Base

Stud

Jose Ramirez 2B/3B – CLE vs. DET – $5,100 – There are a few really good value plays at second base, so you might not need to go up this high to fill second base, but if you’re stacking the Indians against Anibal Sanchez you’ll want to make sure the hot-hitting Ramirez is a part of it. The free-swinging Ramirez has nine multi-hit games over his past 15 starts.

Other Options – Robinson Cano ($4,900)

Value

Ian Kinsler – DET vs. CLE – $3,700 – Both the Tigers and the Indians will likely hit their way-too-cheap second baseman lead off tonight, and they’re both great plays. I’ll give the slight edge to Kipnis in cash games, but Kinsler in DraftKings tournaments because I think Kipnis will be more popular despite having a slightly worse power profile at this point of his career.

Other Options – Kike Hernandez ($3,700), Jason Kipnis ($3,800)

Third Base

Stud

Evan Longoria – TB vs. BAL – $4,600 – This one checks all the boxes. Longoria has been crushing right-handed pitching all season, is hitting near the top of the lineup on the road in a great hitters’ park and his team has the highest implied-team total on the slate. Oh, and he’s owned Chris Tillman in a very Paul Goldschmidt/Tim Lincecum kind of a way.

Other Options – Nolan Arenado ($4,300), Jake Lamb ($5,000)

Value

Logan Forsythe – LAD vs. SD – $3,100 – Don’t let the small sample size of at-bats this season fool you, Logan Forsythe against lefties is still very much a thing. He carries a .403 wOBA against southpaws over the past few seasons and is set to hit leadoff on the road in San Diego. Forsythe is a great play in cash games if you need the savings.

Other Options – Manny Machado ($3,800), Joey Gallo ($3,700)

Shortstop

Stud

Carlos Correa – HOU vs. NYY – $4,500 – I think Yankees’ starter Michael Pineda is in no-man’s land tonight. He likely won’t be a popular option, but I don’t think you’ll see a lot of ownership tied to the Astros’ bats either. That may be a mistake. Pineda isn’t missing bats at the elite level that he had been over the past few season’s but he’s still allowing a ton of hard contact, and Correa is currently locked in at the plate. He has a nine-game hitting streak and is fresh off of a two-homer outing on Thursday night.

Other Options – Elvis Andrus ($4,400)

Value

Trevor Story – COL vs. ARI – $3,000 – I really only consider Trevor Story when he’s facing left-handers that don’t strike guys out, but he’s just so cheap here I can’t ignore it. He’s a viable tournament play against Robbie Ray in Arizona and won’t need to do much to return value at this price. Ray is a fly ball pitcher who’s allowed more hard-hit contact than any other pitcher on this slate.

Other Options – Eduardo Escobar ($3,200)

Outfield

Stud

Corey Dickerson – TB vs. BAL – $4,900 – Have I mentioned that the Rays are a good play tonight? I think I did. C-Dick will likely hit second and has immense power upside against Chris Tillman in Baltimore. With some of the other high-priced studs in the outfield having difficult matchups, I think Dickerson will be a fairly popular play tonight for those looking to spend up.

Other Options – Giancarlo Stanton ($4,600), J.D. Martinez ($4,500)

Value

Matt Olson – OAK vs. ATL – $2,300 – The ability to roster a high upside bat that’s hitting near the top of the order for just $300 more than the minimum is a huge asset and I suggest taking advantage of it. The left-hand hitting Olson will face Mike Foltynewciz who’s allowed left-handers to compiled a .375 wOBA against him during his career, and a .389 wOBA against him this season. He’s viable in both cash games and tournaments.

Other Options – Mallex Smith ($3,800), Nomar Mazara ($3,800)

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is RyanFix) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.

Latest Headlines From

Jacob deGrom • SP • NYM

Jacob deGrom continues late surge for Cy Young

Last season, deGrom ($11,500) ran away with the National League Cy Young. He had a historic season and his 1.70 ERA was one of the best marks in the history of the league. That kind of performance is tough to replicate, but he's been on the mark since the All-Star break. He has a sub 2.00 ERA in the second half of the season and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 13 starts. Tonight's performance was one of his best of the year. Pitching against the Dodgers, the best team in the National League, deGrom worked seven shutout innings and tallied eight strikeouts. He finished with 29.35 DKFP and could be on his way to back to back Cy Young Awards.

Eduardo Rodriguez strikes out 12 in pitchers' duel

Rodriguez ($10,300) went back-and-forth dueling with Aaron Nola ($9,500) tonight. Both allowed just a single run and the game came down to the bullpens. Neither starter got a decision although Rodriguez had the edge in the department we care about, fantasy points. The dozen strikeouts for E-Rod are a season-high and he scored 33.4 DKFP even though he didn't get the win bonus. On the other side of the game, Nola was no slouch. He pitched seven innings, striking out nine batters against a potent Boston offense and scored 27.55 DKFP. The lose for Philly was costly and moves it 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. The Phillies need a near-flawless finish to the season to clinch a playoff birth.

Brett Gardner homers twice as Yankees roll 13-3

The Yankees continue to slug their way to the postseason and homered five times on their way to a 13-3 rout in Toronto. Gardner ($4,100; 39 DKFP) was the only player with multiple home runs, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI. Luke Voit ($4,600; 29 DKFP) went 2-for-3 with a home run, Gleyber Torres ($4,800; 20 DKFP) went 1-for-3 with a home run, and Mike Ford ($4,100; 16 DKFP) got in on the action coming off the bench with a home run in his only at-bat. The Yankees have 20 homers in their past six games and 285 on the season. They have already broken their record for most team home runs from last season and are ahead of the Twins in a race to set the new mark.